Quick Update on Vendors

Thank you all so much for your support. I saw the proofs of the poster yesterday and it looks great! I also sent what I hope are the final round of design edits to our new card vendor. Pictures below.

As we mentioned on the description of the campaign, we were hoping to change printers for the second edition. Because of your support, we were able to move production of 99.9% of the cards and all of the posters from Guangdong province, China to Kansas City, MO. We are now working through a local, union print-shop in Seattle, WA that is both printing the posters and coordinating the card production in Missouri.

There are a number of reasons for this move. My last job was at a leading anti-human trafficking NGO, so verifiable labor conditions were part of the story but not all of it. We evaluated for stock-quality, cost, and production time and found our new vendor performed well. We are continuing our relationship with our previous vendor to print the single customized cards for Backers at the $24 Award level and may work with them to print some jumbo decks for educators at a conference (the .01% of our order), because global economic engagement matters.

Our new vendor brings a number of benefits: they provide more review of design, ensuring final decks will be of an even higher quality. I know for a fact their decks last--I have had a deck of theirs for 7 years and have found it wore well (it was the Class of '07's "007 Poker Night Prom" deck--I don't know if that makes me old or young). I'll send you updates when I get proofs from them. We're happy with the change.

Timeline Impact

Moving production to the U.S. has some drawbacks as well as benefits. It cost a bit more, though it should not break our budget. It may also take a bit longer. According to the vendors' predictions, the cards should still get to you by December. If I find out they will arrive after 12/23 (an outcome that is more likely for international than domestic Backers), I will let you know as soon as I find out. But I am working hard--with 1-hour design turn-arounds and many a late-night--to ensure these decks get to you ASAP.

I was going to make this a surprise, but in the next few weeks I'll share a printable holiday card you can customize if you're giving a deck away this holiday season. That means that, even if there is a scheduling goof with a vendor, those who bought a deck to give to a cousin who believes women cannot be computer scientists will have something to hand over as a gift before the deck arrives.

Photos of Our New Vendor

That's enough of enterprise logistics and economic geopolitics for one update. Here are some photos from the print-shop in Seattle we're using and a sneak peek of the poster and updated cards:

Our Local Print-Shop

Close-up of Notable Backers of Women in Computing

Proof Version of the Poster (I didn't have a banana for scale, so a quarter will have to do)

As always, if you have any questions please reach out. Thank you for your support.

Comments

As a Union officer (and a computer scientist, an uncommon combination, sadly) I applaud your ethical choices! Also given that one of my other Kickstarter backed rewards got lost between China and the US, and another had manufacturing problems that caused them to send out repair parts. Sourcing/making these locally will improve the likelihood of it getting done right and delivered!